5 Tips for Writing Exceptional Job Descriptions

Let’s be honest, attracting the top talent in your industry has become a war zone. Your competitors are looking for the same candidates, and they’re doing a better job. The most common way candidates discover  positions is by searching for keywords in your job descriptions. In the description is also where you convey what you want, what your candidates need to have, and how you attract people to your organization. Here are 5 simple tips to make your next job description stand out:

1. Be yourself
Embody your company in your job descriptions. If you’re a young start-up-don’t use corporate language with lengthy job descriptions, tell a story about who you are through your job ad. Candidates will remember a job description that was unique to a specific company, they won’t remember boring templated ones.

2. Be specific
While you don’t want to include every single requirement and daily responsibility for an open position, you do want to be specific about what you’re looking for. If there is a very specific skill or type of experience the right candidate needs, make sure to include it. Incorporating specific skills will attract the right candidates searching for positions using said skills and will also discourage unqualified candidates from applying.

3. Think like a candidate
What keywords and titles would you use to find the position you’re posting for? Use those. Using obscure titles and uncommon keywords in your job posting will make it difficult for the right candidate to find your job. Use simple and well-known job titles and important keywords associated with the position. Using crazy slang and unique job descriptions will make your posting unsearchable.

4. Get the right layout
Typing three paragraphs about daily responsibilities isn’t going to get you far. Anyone searching for your ad is in the midst of their job search won’t spend very much time looking at your job if it’s messy and extremely long.  Use bullet points when possible and make the job description quick and easy to look at.

5. Sell the opportunity
Why should a candidate apply for your job posting over another one? What makes your company a great place to work at? What is unique about the particular position? What will the candidate be doing? All of these questions should be answered in your job posting. Including information like this gets that candidate excited about not only the opportunity but also the company and the chance to work there.

Visit The Ultimate Guide to Hiring Digital Talent page to view our digital job descriptions!